In Justice, There's Love/Chapter Five
Cradling Love can hold you It can break you But love can be for everyone Is it for you too? POV: Moonflight I stretched, feeling excitement bubbling from the tom next to me, "Thornstrike, surely you aren't excited just because you're coming with Tigerpaw to the training camp." I snorted. My brother was fidgeting, and he turned in confusion, "Oh no, I'm just... I was... she... Snowstar said when Fawnsky retires, I'll be the next deputy!" "Really?" my eyes widened, "Congratulations!" He smiled, and I felt some of our old bond regenerate. I stood up abruptly, "I'm going to go hunting for a bit, got to prepare myself for the next moon." I let my tail tip brush against Thornstrike's pelt before trotting outside. It was nice and cold, even though it was leaf-fall. Leafbare was coming soon, so it was no big deal. I shivered from the cold and scurried through the forest, breaking out into a run, not sure where I was going. I had no important meetings tonight. "Moonflight!" I turned, and saw Frostclaw waiting for me at the border, "You look happy," he noted carefully, his green eyes sharp. "Frostclaw!" I exclaimed, "What are you doing out here?" "Waiting for you." I felt my paws tingle, "Is there really something special going on between us?" I breathed out, my eyes glowing. Frostclaw nodded and touched my nose with his, "Of course, Moonflight, I love you, don't you ever forget that." I won't. He was obviously waiting for a reply, and I felt awkward. Taking a step back, I stuttered out, "In one moon, I'll be going with my apprentice to a training camp for six moons." "Oh really? What kind of training camp is this?" He didn't even look interested in the fact that I was leaving for six moons, with only tiny visits avaliable. "Somewhere apprentices go to train for six moons before they are deemed warriors." I explained uneasily. Frostclaw looked too eager to know. "That sounds interesting," Frostclaw purred, though his eyes did not match his light-hearted tone, "How does it work?" "Nevermind how it works," I mewed quickly, trying to avoid the topic, "How do you do it in RushClan?" I tried to pry him open a bit. The white tom immediately closer up, "It works just like your Clan." And that was all he would say. I tried to steer the conversation to a more light-hearted topic, but Frostclaw just stood up, touched noses with me, and made an excuse to go. I stared after him, realizing that he didn't seem to care that I wouldn't be able to see him for a long time. What's going on? ~ Creampaw was bouncing with excitement when I took her out hunting the next day. She was talking to Tigerpaw about the training camp. Thornstrike had decided to tell them today, since they were going in less than a moon now. Fogpaw looked less excited, he was obvious intent on training more than just the excitement of going to another place to train. Tigerpaw was matching Creampaw's talking speed, and with the two of them talking for all they were worth, I was getting a headache. "Can we please be quiet so we can start the hunting lesson?" Thornstrike snapped, turning on his apprentice, "I know you're thrilled about leaving camp, but still!" Creampaw immediately shut her mouth and kept her head down, but Tigerpaw just glared back at her mentor. The two of them glared at each other for a bit, and then finally, Tigerpaw huffed and followed her sister. "If we're going to be training in another camp, why are we doing lessons now?" "To get you used to the concept of basic hunting techniques and basic fighting moves." Thornstrike replied. "That way when you get to the camp, you can work on the harder moves." Tigerpaw perked up, "I can't wait!" Creampaw laughed, and I cracked a smile. Even I hadn't been so enthusiastic as an apprentice. Then of course, we didn't have any training camps back then. Birdsong stopped and turned around, "Alright, we're going to check your hunter's crouch again. Last time you three did well, but we should go over it again, in case you've forgotten." The three apprentices dropped into a crouch, and Creampaw proved to be a quick learner, her form nearly perfect. "Your form is good, Creampaw," I praised, "You can go over by the grove and start hunting." Creampaw purred at her success and darted off to start her hunting. Tigerpaw, not to be outbeated, crouched down, keeping her tail flat and low. She was favoring her left side, and Thornstrike pointed it out, causing Tigerpaw to scowl. Fogpaw was doing moderately well, though his crouch was a bit off. After accessing them quickly, Birdsong sent Fogpaw off to join his sister. Thornstrike was having trouble with Tigerpaw. "You can't just lean on one side and hope that it'll allow you to jump farther!" Thornstrike argued, trying to fix his apprentice's crouch. "Yeah but it works!" Thornstrike huffed and growled, "Really? Show me then." Tigerpaw crouched almost effortlessly, and her paws shifted to right spot. She had the right stance, and she would have had a perfect crouch if she had not been favoring her left side. Hopping across the floor, Tigerpaw looked as though she was faking it. "That's not a jump." Thornstrike snorted, obviously annoyed. Tigerpaw bristled, "I'm just trying to even my jump out! My right side is stronger than my left, so I'm trying to shift my position so it suits me better." Thornstrike didn't look impressed, so I stepped in for him, "That's a good strategy, Tigerpaw, but you should try to stick to the regular stance, it won't be any harder jumping like that than leaning on your right legs." Tigerpaw merely nodded and bounded off. Birdsong turned and padded after the apprentices, leaving me alone with my brother. "You shouldn't have defended her!" Thornstrike rounded on me, "She has to learn to listen to my directions, I'm her mentor!" "You were being too harsh on her," I hissed back, "Tigerpaw's a young cat, I don't want to dampen her spirits. Remember they're only five moons old." "So?" Thornstrike snapped, "A warrior must be ready to obey their leader's orders." I rolled my eyes, "You're not her leader yet." "I will be." I blinked. Thornstrike's amber gaze glowered at me, and I stepped back quickly, "You don't know that yet, Thornstrike-" "Snowstar's right, Fawnsky is getting weaker and weaker, she has whitecough according to Robinflight, so soon, I'll be deputy." The menace in my brother's voice frightened me. But before I could reply, there was a defiant yowl, and I heard someone shriek, "RushClan, attack!" "The apprentices!" I gasped, turning towards where Birdsong was and bounding towards them. When Thornstrike and I reached the cowering apprentices, they were unharmed. "Where's Birdsong?" I asked, terror filling me with dread. "She went to see where the warriors were going." Tigerpaw mewed meekly, "They just ran right past us, heading towards there." She pointed her tail towards the thick, dense forest that lined the territory. "The training camp!" Thornstrike gasped. Creampaw shot him a terrified look, "Is that where we're going in one moon?" She look so small now that a new threat hung over their heads. When I nodded grimly, Fogpaw whispered, "I don't want to go there!" Thornstrike didn't respond, his dark amber gaze staring at the trees ahead of us, "I just want to know how they found out about the camp, and why they're targetting it." My blood turned to ice. They knew about the training camp because... ...I told Frostclaw about it.